The Reunion
POV Harry
"Draco Malfoy."
Harry's head snapped up as Draco's name left Ron's mouth. His eyes met Hermione's who was staring at him intently over her book. The silence between the three of them stretched out for a while before Ron cleared his throat.
"Right," Harry said hesitantly. "Right, well that's good. I mean good for him. I didn't even think about him coming back, but why shouldn't he?" It was a lie, though, he had thought a lot about whether Draco would be returning. "He deserves to come back as much as anyone else."
"Harry," Hermione said softly. Harry quickly stopped talking realizing he had been rambling for too long. Ron glanced between Hermione and Harry.
"So you haven't seen him then," Ron asked. "I mean not since..."
"Not since the final battle, no," Harry responded looking down at his hands. He ran a thumb over a long scar on the back of his hand that he had gotten in that final battle. Harry thought about that day constantly. Nightmares had started to plague him almost every night now. Every time he closes his eyes all he can see are the faces of the people who died for him endlessly flashing through his mind. Cedric. Dumbledore. Sirius. Mad-Eye. Remus. Tonks. Dobby. Lavender. Colin. Snape. Hedwig. He shut his eyes and dug his thumb into the scar. God he misses Hedwig. He's never been at Hogwarts without Hedwig. Harry dug his thumb into the scar harder and tried to push the thoughts down. He sighed and opened his eyes to find that both Ron and Hermione were looking at him with worried expressions.
"I'm fine," he said too quickly for it to sound natural. Harry hadn't told either of his best friends about his nightmares coming back recently or the guilt that was almost constantly drowning him.
"We've never really talked about it," Hermione said quietly and she quickly glanced at Harry. "I mean about what Draco did that day." Hermione looked nervous and refused to meet Harry's eyes anymore. Harry knew that Hermione was worried about upsetting him but the truth was Harry felt like he had been waiting for anyone to bring up Draco Malfoy and what happened between them during that battle.
"He saved my life," Harry said matter of factly. "Draco's mother, she saved me in the forest when Voldemort thought I was dead. One word from her that I was still alive and he could have actually killed me and ended the war there. But all she cared about was whether Draco was okay and when I told her that he was still alive, she spared me."
"What would she have done if you said Draco was dead, though," Ron muttered angrily under his breath.
"Ron," Hermione said with warning tone. Ron didn't say anything else but he glared at the floor. Harry understood Ron's anger, he knew all too well what it felt like and knew it was how Ron had been coping following the war. But Harry hadn't felt any anger since the war especially not with Draco or his mother, he had only felt shame and guilt.
"She would have still protected me," Harry said determinedly. "She just needed to know. And Draco," Harry paused. Draco hadn't just saved his life in the last battle, he had protected Harry numerous times during the war.
"And Draco?" Hermione gently encouraged.
"When Draco saw that I wasn't dead, he threw me his wand. Then all hell broke loose and Voldemort and the death eaters started firing every curse they could at me," Harry said.
"And Draco dove in front of you. I saw him take one of those curses for you," Hermione said cutting him off.
"Yeah," Harry responded and paused looking back down at the scar on his hand again. "A couple of those curses barely missed me and that one might have hit me if not for Draco." Harry looked back up at Hermione, "He had no idea if those curses were killing curses. He could have died taking that curse for me but he still took it. And that's not the only time he's saved me during this war. At Malfoy Manor he told Bellatrix that it wasn't me when the snatchers showed up and claimed they had captured me but I could tell that he knew it was me. Then when we were escaping and fighting the death eaters, he practically tackled me to the ground. For a second I thought he was attacking me but then he let me flip him off of me so easily. And as he was laying on the floor he just slipped the Elder wand into my hand."
"He gave it to you?" Hermione says taken aback. "I thought you had pried it away from him during the fight." Harry slowly shook his head. "Why didn't you ever tell us, Harry?"
"I honestly don't know," Harry admitted. "Him refusing to identify me and then just giving me the Elder wand, I was so confused about why he did it. Even now I'm not sure what changed for him that he started actively helping me."
"Yeah it does seem weird considering he spent an entire year trying to kill Dumbledore then helped sneak death eaters into Hogwarts," Ron's angry voice suddenly interrupting. Harry looked over at Ron who had his arms crossed with clenched fists. He was staring furiously back at them, "Both of you seem to also be completely forgetting that he tried his best to make our lives hell for five years at school."
"It's not that we've forgotten Ron," Hermione said looking uncomfortable. "It's just well he saved Harry and almost died for him multiple times. That has to count for something and it seems like maybe something changed in him."
Ron huffed out a sarcastic laugh and rounded on Harry. "Well what about you?" he demanded, "Do you think he just magically changed? You're ready to just forgive everything he did before then?"
Harry hesitated because he really wasn't sure why Draco had suddenly seemed so invested in Harry's survival. He felt so conflicted when he thought about Draco but he also thought about Draco a fair amount now. Harry never had the chance to talk to him about everything that happened during the war. He had gone as far as finding out where Draco was living with his mother following the war with the intention of visiting him, but every time he came close he would back out at the last minute. He thought back to the night when he watched Draco point his wand at Dumbledore struggling with an internal battle over the thought of killing him. No one else but him had been there but when Dumbledore was promising Draco protection from Voldemort, Harry saw Draco lowering his wand before Bellatrix and the other death eaters came barreling into the room. He knew Draco wouldn't have killed Dumbledore and Harry felt so sure that he had been close to accepting Dumbledore's offer.
"I don't know," Harry finally said after a while. That seemed to end the conversation because both Ron and Hermione fell silent for the remainder of the ride to Hogwarts. When the train finally came to a stop, the three of them exited the train and began walking towards the carriages. The thestrals that pulled the carriages loomed over the crowd of students and Harry silently wondered how many students here could now see them.
"Harry!" a bright voice called out to him before someone was colliding with him and wrapping their arms around him. Harry stumbled back a couple of steps before realizing who the mass of blonde hair was.
"Hey Luna," he said huffing out a small laugh and pulling her into a hug. She stepped back, beaming up at him and Harry glanced over her shoulder to see both Ginny and Neville walking towards them, as well.
"Hey guys," Neville said grinning. "I'm glad all of you came back this year."
"Hey Neville," Harry said grinning back at him. Harry's eyes slid over to Ginny and he gave her a hesitant smile, "Hi Ginny."
She smiled in return, "Harry."
"Come get a carriage with us?" Neville asked as the group of them made their way towards an empty carriage. Harry found his eyes darting around the crowd as they walking. Some people smiled at him as they passed but Harry was relieved that he wasn't getting too many stares. They all mounted the carriage and as it rounded a corner, the full view of Hogwarts was revealed. A strange sensation twisted in Harry's stomach as he took in the castle and how utterly normal it looked. Not a single stone was out of place like the final battle had never even happened. The entire carriage fell silent as they all stared at Hogwarts which was still the same and now completely changed forever to them.
"It feels strange," Luna said so quietly that the rest of the carriage almost didn't hear her. But they all nodded before riding the rest of the way in silence as a soft rain started to fall.
As they dismounted the carriage and strode towards the main entrance, Harry continued to scan the students getting out of the other carriages. He recognized a lot of the students' faces but continued to search the crowd. He knew he was looking for Draco but he wasn't sure why he was so intent on finding him. Harry found for some reason he needed to at least see him as though he needed proof that he was actually returning to Hogwarts. His search proved futile, though, as the students filed inside and tracked water into the great hall.
As Harry walked into the great hall, the first thing he did was look up at the enchanted ceiling. It looked just like the stormy sky outside with hundreds of floating candles that appeared like stars scattered among the clouds. Harry then glanced at the long table at the end of the hall where the professors always sat. Professor McGonagall was the first person he saw, positioned at the center of the table in the headmistress' seat. Harry felt the ball of anxiety in his chest loosen a little at the sight of the headmistress who had done so much for him over the past six years. His eyes traveled down the rest of the table and saw that a majority of his professors were sitting in their usual places. The only new absence from the table was Snape but it seemed Slughorn had agreed to return as the potions master. Harry briefly wondered who would be the new defense against the dark arts professor since the death eater Amycus Crow had taken over the position during the war. Harry didn't notice any new faces but his gaze did pass over an empty seat. His eyes eventually landed on Hagrid who was seated towards the end of the table and who was waving happily at Harry. A grin slid onto Harry's face and he waved back at Hagrid as he took his place at the Gryffindor table with the rest of his friends.
As soon as he sat down, his eyes raked up and down the Slytherin table. Harry was vaguely aware that professor McGonagall had stood and began talking to commence the sorting ceremony. Harry tried to listen to what the headmistress was saying but his eyes kept slipping away from the crowd of first year students back to the Slytherin table. Harry continued to search until he heard the headmistress call the final student's name and announce the start of the feast. He sighed and gave up before turning to scoop food onto his plate.
"I don't see him either," Hermione said quietly under her breath next to Harry.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Draco, I don't see him either," she responded glancing over at him. Harry felt his face heat slightly and refused to meet Hermione's eyes.
"I never said I was looking for Draco," Harry mumbled. Harry saw Hermione smile and roll her eyes out of the corner of his eye but he was thankful that she didn't push him on the obvious lie. Harry tried to push Draco out of his mind while his friends finished eating. He pushed the food on his plate around while talking to Neville and Luna about what they had been doing since the final battle.
"What about you, Harry?" Luna asked brightly. "What have you been doing?"
"Oh," Harry said caught off guard because he had only been half listening. "Uh, I've been going between the burrow and Grimmauld place. Just been helping with rebuilding wherever they need me and continuing to clean out Grimmauld place since the Ministry officially ruled that it was mine."
"I heard you were also going into the Ministry to-" Neville started but was interrupted by professor McGonagall clearing her throat behind them. The group turned to look at her and finally noticed that students around them were standing up and filing out of the great hall.
"Sorry professor," Hermione said and quickly rose from her seat. "We didn't hear you dismiss everyone."
Professor McGonagall gave them a small smile, "I noticed that. It's quite alright Ms. Granger, I was just coming over to request a word with you and Mr. Potter. The rest of you may make your way to your common room." Ron gave her an expectant look, "Alright Mr. Weasley you may come as well," professor McGonagall sighed but Harry saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly. Ron smiled and hopped up to follow them into a small room off the side of the great hall. The headmistress turned to face them, "I'm pleased that all three of you decided to return for your final year. I know that all of you could have easily accepted the jobs that the Ministry offered but I believe this decision was in your best interests. That being said I've decided to make both you, Ms. Granger, and you, Mr. Potter, prefects for your last year." Whatever Harry was expecting her to say to them it certainly wasn't this. Harry stole a glance over at Ron who Dumbledore had previously named as one of Gryffindor's prefects.
Ron saw the look that Harry shot him and grinned, "Don't worry mate, I don't mind. I wasn't really all that great of a prefect in the first place." The looks on both Hermione's and the headmistress' faces told Harry that they agreed and he had to suppress a laugh.
"Ms. Granger you were previously a prefect and are familiar with what is expected of you. I was hoping that you would be willing to inform Mr. Potter of all his duties," professor McGonagall said.
"Of course, professor," Hermione responded and stood up a little straighter. Harry saw Ron roll his eyes but Harry was happy that the war hadn't changed Hermione too much. She was still the same girl that cared too much about school and impressing her professors.
"There is one thing that is different about being 7th prefect. An additional benefit given to the senior prefects is that they are given private rooms," the headmistress said. Harry's eyebrows raised and Hermione looked equally surprised. "It is a new benefit but also responsibility that we are testing out on this year's senior prefects,' professor McGonagall admitted seeing the shock on their faces.
"Nevermind I do care and I want my old position back," Ron joked, elbowing Harry.
Harry huffed out a laugh but then turned to the headmistress, "Does that mean I don't get to room with Ron?"
"Oh go on Harry," Ron said sounding genuine. "If anyone deserves some privacy this year, it's you. Besides I'll still come visit of course." Harry couldn't lie to himself, it did sound nice having a private room especially with the nightmares that had been plaguing him recently.
"You will have a private room, however, your room will share a common area with another prefect,' professor McGonagall said. "This year the Gryffindor prefects will be sharing a common area with the Slytherin prefects. So Ms. Granger, you will be sharing with Ms. Parkinson and Potter you will be sharing with Mr. Malfoy." Harry felt his stomach drop and both Ron and Hermione turned suddenly to study his reaction. This interaction didn't seem to escape Professor McGonagall's notice and she turned to directly address Ron and Hermione. "Mr. Weasley do you think you could escort Ms. Granger to her new rooms. It will be the third portrait past the fat lady and the password is canary creams." At the mention of the password, Hermione grinned and Harry saw the headmistress holding back a smile of her own. Ron and Hermione walked out of the room, glancing over their shoulders at Harry as they left.
"I'll show you where your new rooms will be," professor McGonagall said and Harry followed her out of the room.
"Professor," Harry said walking down the corridor next to her. "Why did you make me a prefect? Ron was the other Gryffindor prefect before we left Hogwarts."
Professor McGonagall was silent for a while before simply stating, "Because Dumbledore didn't." Harry furrowed his brows and stop walking. The headmistress sighed and turned to face him. "I won't pretend that there were a lot of things that Dumbledore did that I didn't agree with, especially when they pertained to you Harry. I would have made you a Gryffindor prefect back in fifth year to show you that I trusted you and more than that, that I believed in you. But I couldn't change his decision then so I'm attempting to show you now."
"Professor you really don't have to-" Harry started to say.
"I know," she cut him off. "But after everything that happened, after everything and everyone that you lost, I just want you to have one year of your childhood back, even if you are of age now. I wish you could have lived the life of a normal Hogwarts student who became a prefect then followed his passion to become an auror. I know it won't change what happened to you but this is what I can do to try and give you even a small piece of that." When Harry really looked at her now, he could see how tired she looked. She looked like how Harry felt every day since the war had ended. Neither of them said anything and they let the silence stretch between them for a while before they started walking again.
"Thank you," Harry said quietly after a minute and he saw her nod slightly beside him.
Professor McGonagall led him down the stairs that normally took students to the dungeon and Slytherin common room. After walking for a little bit longer, they stopped in front of a portrait of a young woman with long curly brown hair in an emerald gown. She was holding a long sword in both of her hands that was pointed down and tossed her hair a little as she studied the pair of them. The headmistress stopped and turned to face Harry.
"Are you okay with the rooming situation?" she asked him. Harry knew what she was really asking him.
"I don't mind sharing with Draco," he answered.
Professor McGonagall smiled at him, "I didn't think you would. I think it might be difficult for Mr. Malfoy here at Hogwarts and in the wizarding world in general moving forward. Not everyone will be so quick to forgive his family."
"He's not his family," Harry said vehemently.
"I had a feeling that you wouldn't be of that same opinion which is why I thought rooming with you might be easiest for him," she said smiling softly at him. "The password is ferrets," she said suddenly and Harry looked at her surprised to find her failing to suppress a smile. "Forgive me I simply couldn't resist," she said quietly before turning and striding off.
Harry chuckled to himself before turning to the portrait and repeating the password. The woman in the painting gave him a dazzling smile before the portrait swung open to reveal the common area. Harry stepped through the portrait hole and hadn't taken in any of his surroundings before his eyes were focusing on the boy who stood near the fireplace. His blonde hair wasn't pushed back with gel anymore and now was a little longer and falling into his face. He looked like he had grown a couple more inches and he appeared to be studying the fire intently. As the portrait swung closed, his head snapped up and his eyes met Harry's.
"Draco..."